1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to thiodiglycol derivatives, to their production by reaction of thiodiglycol with alcohols in the presence of acidic compounds and subsequent oxidation to the sulfoxide and/or sulfone. The invention also relates to the use of the described thiodiglycol derivatives for softening fabrics.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Domestic and institutional fabric softeners contain above all quaternary ammonium compounds, more particularly of the dimethyl distearyl ammonium chloride type or, more recently, compounds of similar structure containing one, two or three fatty acyloxyalkyl groups. On account of the increasing significance of stability in storage, viscosity characteristics and, in particular, biodegradability, above all in the case of highly concentrated fabric softeners, numerous proposals for replacing these components by nitrogen-free substitute compounds or corresponding systems have been published. These proposals encompass both inorganic components, more particularly inorganic insoluble components, such as layer silicate compounds (see, for example, DE-PS 23 34 899), and also selected organic components, for example disalts of long-chain .alpha.-sulfofatty acids, and combinations of such systems (see, for example, DE-PS 36 04 039).
Thiodiglycol derivatives, a process for their production and their use for softening fabrics are already known from German patent application DE 39 36 862 A1. However, on account of their limited solubility in water and their melting points, these compounds can only be made up into dispersions by laborious mixing. The ethoxylates of thiodiglycol derivatives described in German patent application P 40 21 694.2 represent an improvement in this regard. They are produced from .alpha.-olefin epoxides. Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide thiodiglycol derivatives suitable for softening fabrics using renewable raw materials, another problem addressed by the invention being to provide a process for the production of these compounds which would enable even relatively large quantities to be readily produced.